What did you use that lasted the whole 2,168 miles [Archive]

gweet4

11-02-2005, 01:59

I've done research and even searched but can't seem to find what I am looking for.

I want to know from past hikers who have sucessfully hiked from GA-ME, what bag, pack, boot, tent did they use, from start to finish without switching or buying another to replace.

I seem to find a lot of advice from people who only hiked for 1 month, or have done weekend trips here and there. Or who used two boots and one shoe, or two different bags for different weather along the way.

I looking for people who never switched what they had, and used it the whole entire time.

An example would be: I hiked the A.T. from ga-me in 2003 and used a kelty something bag, the whole way, and it worked fine for me.
or I wore a certain brand of boot, and it lasted the whole entire time.

Thanks.

Peaks

11-02-2005, 08:16

There are lots of reasons to switch gear during a thru-hike. Maybe you find something better, like switch from a gas stove to an alcohol stove. Maybe it's summer, so you swap out sleeping bags. Maybe it just wears out, like boots.

But, some gear that went the distance for me included my pack (Kelty), sleeping pad (Thermarest), and tent (Zoid). Now, I only tented about 30% of the nights. All three items are still going, and have been used for additional backpacking trips after the AT.

Gear that wore out, or got broken and replaced included socks, some clothing, camera, and water filter cartridges.

Gear that got switched for something lighter included cooking pot, and rain gear.

Blue Jay

11-02-2005, 08:20

K2 pack, EMS sleeping bag, Eureka tent, ExOfficieo clothing, single EMS pole, PUR water filter (4 refills), basic gas stove. In fact the pack, pole and filter have gone more than once. I truly believe that if you buy any good piece of equipment and treat it with respect, there will be no problem making it the whole way.

fiddlehead

11-02-2005, 08:58

I've used most all of my gear for more than one thru-hike including: Go-lite Breeze pack, Feathered Friends "Hummingbird" sleeping bag, Integral Designs "sil shelter" tarp/tent, MSR "pocket rocket" stove, my homeade aluminum cookpot, made from a $1 thrift store pot, my long underwear, fleece jacket,hat,etc. etc. etc.
I think the only things that didn't hold up were: socks, and shoes.

Cedar Tree

11-02-2005, 08:58

I carried the same tent (Coleman Cobra) and sleeping bag (Campmor 20 degree Down) the whole way. CT

Jail Break

11-02-2005, 09:05

My uncle has an MSR whisperlite stove for about 10 years now, and uses it CONSTANTLY, including 3 thruhikes. He also uses an 11 pound canvas military pack that's 60+ years old, not a tear, and the all the METAL buckles still work, all original. Apparently, take care of your stuff and it will last.

swift

11-02-2005, 09:55

My Pearl Izumi X-static shirt and very strangely, 2 pairs of Ingenius socks have lasted the 4200 miles I've logged on the AT. Although I did buy another pair of those socks for the bump box.

Nean

11-02-2005, 10:15

My gear has lasted so long many people think I'm a vagrant. My cook kit is the only piece of gear I've had on every hike though. Shoes and socks are the only gear I replace on a hike. Some just start off with poor or heavy gear and can afford to replace it. I'm usually broke and don't have that option, besides, gear (good, light or not) doesn't get you to Katahdin;)

Lone Wolf

11-02-2005, 10:21

I've had the same cookware for 19 years. I have a Jansport pack with 10,000 miles on it. A Peak 1 stove with about 8,000 miles on it. Various other gear with mega miles on it.

the goat

11-02-2005, 10:26

gregory "whitney" pack- 5000+ miles on it.
montrail "morraine a.t." boots- got 2000+ miles outta them in '01.

Mouse

11-02-2005, 12:31

My Mountainsmith Chimera pack and Wanderlust Nomad tent served the entire hike. Other items did well but varying conditions meant not using them continuously. I used two REI synthetic bags, one winter and one summer. I stopped carrying my Pocket Rocket stove for three months in the summer to save weight, but when I had it it did its work well and reliably.

I wore out a Pacific Outdoor sleeping pad, tried a ridgerest that I discarded as too uncomfortable and then carried the new lightweight Thermarest from Port Royal to the end. My Asolo boots did not work out at all and I replaced them with Merrill Chameleons At Damascus. Those did very well and I'd use them for another thruhike without hesitation. It did take two pairs to finish but any boot wears out. My Leki poles were invaluable but I did replace sections twice after bending them in falls.

Footslogger

11-02-2005, 12:49

Well ...right off the top of my head I'd say that I used the same stove, (Trangia) and fuel bottle (generic plastic booze flask), cook pot (Evernew Ti - 0.9L), same spoon (cut down lexan), same cup, same camera (Panasonic Digital) and the same stuff sacks all the way from Springer to Katahdin. I also used the same pair of shorts (Kmart swimsuit - minus the mesh jock).

I can probably think of more but that's a good start.

'Slogger
AT 2003

Jack Tarlin

11-02-2005, 14:29

I used the same MSR Whisperlite stove for five of my hikes before switching to something lighter (The old stove still works fine).

The only times (twice) that I made it all the way with one wear of boots was when I was wearing the Merrell Wilderness. It's one tough boot, but kind of heavy.

My favorite piece of gear was and is my tent, from Mountain Hardwear, which made it thru seven consecutive thru-hikes and is still going strong. Tho this tent (it's called a Laser) is no longer being made, they have several comparable models available. Great, great company.

One of my Osprey packs had over nine thousand miles on it before I replaced it and my present Osprey is doing great with about five thousand on it, and in addition, was carrried by a friend to the summit of Aconcagua in Argentina a few years ago.

weary

11-02-2005, 14:43

Virtually all well made gear should last a thru hike. The exception seems to be boots these days. Light weight boots by definition have a limited trail life. Heavier boots last longer. I know of one pair of Dexter hiking boots that lasted two thru hikes with the assistance of new soles.

I carried a Zip Stove for 2,000 miles, which doubled for water treatment. My sleeping bag was a 45 degree liner, augmented with long johns and a down jacket during the cold months.

My tent was a Moss, at six pounds it was too heavy. So I switched in June to a Eureka bivouac tent.

My Lowe pack was eight years old and well worn when I started. (1993) It's still in use, though a bit tattered looking, but as sturdy as ever.

Weary

gravityman

11-02-2005, 15:08

These made it the whole way :

Tarptent squall 2
Prolite 3 thermarest
gigapower stove
miox water treatment
MSR 2L titanium pot and pot grabber
Tikka headlamp
Optio-S digital camera
RCA lyra 1080RD mp3 player
SD cards for the camera and mp3 player
1 of the 4 leki poles we used (they replaced the poles that broke without an issue)
EMS teckwik shirt
Pata-gucci ultra shorts (with some mending)
Granite Gear Vapor Trail
silnylon equinox food bag (although the squirrels and mice did a number on it in the 100 mile wilderness)

Gear that we switched out but only because of weather but otherwised like :
Western Mountaineering Superversalite - kept us warm thru a very cold spring. The general concessious was that the Ultralight was NOT warm enough for a march 1 start.
Western mountaineering mitylite - our summer bag that we used as a quilt over two of us with a homemade coupling sheet that coupled the bag to the sleeping pads. Best summer bag ever. A little cold below 40 as a quilt, but we did good even down to freezing with a few clothes.

pata-gucci micropuffs - kept us warm when we needed them

Ender

11-02-2005, 16:14

during my 98 hike, these made it all the way...

Leki Super Makalu's
Ex Officio Shorts
North Face Tee Shirt
SD Clip Flashlight tent
Western Mountaineering Apache SMF bag
Gregory Shasta pack
MSR Titanium fork and spoon
Mini Mag light
Patagonia Capaline mid-weight thermals
Pur Hiker filter (element had to be changed multiple times)
Ridge Rest pad
North Face glove liners
There may be more that I'm not remembering

Things that lasted almost the whole way, and why...

MSR Whisperlight International (cr@pped out in the 100 mile wilderness)
Vasque Sundowners (got a new pair in Damascus, and that pair lasted all the way to K, and could have easily made the whole trip if I'd had them from the beginning)
MSR Titan 1L pot (bought at Walasi-Yi, less than 100 miles into the hike)
North Face Climb Very Light rain jacket (sent home during summer months... still use the jacket today)

the goat

11-02-2005, 17:44

Ender

11-02-2005, 18:17

your titanium fork & spoon lasted the whole way?:eek: i wore holes in three of 'em in 2001. :D

Yeah, titanium is a very delicate material, much like fine crystal or lacey underwear, but if you treat it veeery carefully, it may just go the distance :jump

The Old Fhart

11-02-2005, 18:25

Ender-"Yeah, titanium is a very delicate material, much like fine crystal or lacey underwear, but if you treat it veeery carefully, it may just go the distance..." Are you saying your lacey underwear didn't go the distance? :D The ones I got from Fredericks of Poland wear like leather-oops, they ARE leather!

The Will

11-02-2005, 20:32

Dana Designs Terrapalne

Feathered Friends Lark

MSR Whisperlite

Outdoor Research Advanced Bivy

Smartwool Expedition Trekking socks!!! (Yeah, they were definitely in tatters, but I kept them the whole trip)

Grampie

11-03-2005, 09:31

Most of my gear lasted my whole hike except sox, shirt and some other expendable items.
I used one pair of boots, Montrail, AT Hikers, to do the whole AT and than some. ;)
Most quality gear, tent, bag, stove etc. should last for a whole thru-hike.

Tha Wookie

11-03-2005, 12:38

My wooden hiking stick lasted the whole way.

Footslogger

11-03-2005, 12:58

My wooden hiking stick lasted the whole way.
=====================================
This reminded me that my cheapie REI trekking poles made it all the way too (and are still in use). Course the tips got sucked off in the Vermont mud, but I was able to get replacements at EMS in Hanover.

'Slogger

The Solemates

11-03-2005, 14:09

These things went the distance:

(me)
Gregory Z-Pack
Cascade Designs/Thermarest full length Z-Rest
Snowpeak Titanium 1400mL pot w/ lid
Ex Oficio Amphi Convertible Pants w/ built-in liner
Patagonia Zip-Tee polyypro shirt (albeit it had some major holes in it from where my pack straps rubbed)
Mtn Hrdwr windstopper fleece hat
Princeton Tec Aurora
generic mug

(my wife)
Gregory Reality
Cascade Designs/Thermarest 3/4 length Z-Rest
Leki Makalus
Petzl Tikka
Mtn Hrdwr windstopper fleece hat
Duofold polypro shirt
generic mug
Boy Scouts generic aluminum plate
Lexan spoon
LL Bean pants

Footslogger

11-03-2005, 14:13

...oh yeah, and my Petzl Tikka made it all the way too.

'Slogger

Mouth

11-03-2005, 21:37

Things that made it the whole way:
SportKilt
Canon Digital Rebel (heavy but quality is worth it)
AntigravityGear Cookset (stove, coozy, pot, etc.)
Nalgene
Katadin Water filter (although hardly used toward the end)

Things that made it from Neels Gap (so pretty much the whole way)
Thermarest prolite 3 short
ULA P2 Pack

Tha Wookie

11-03-2005, 22:04

My Ray Jardine style tarp has lasted all the AT, PCT, CT, AWCT, 2 months in Mexico, six months in the Caribbean, and over 200 section miles of the PT and BMT. That's a total of over 9,000 miles and several full years of sleeping under it from beaches to blizzards.

That being said, I also use two dome tents from time to time from North Face that I've been using since 1980 as a 4 year old with family.

I've gone through two packs of Ray's design. Now I use the first one again after varmits got the first.

ofthearth

02-05-2008, 08:17

I'd be curious to see if you found some useful info here. Looks like it would take a spread sheet to come up with common gear.

I've done research and even searched but can't seem to find what I am looking for.

I want to know from past hikers who have sucessfully hiked from GA-ME, what bag, pack, boot, tent did they use, from start to finish without switching or buying another to replace.

I seem to find a lot of advice from people who only hiked for 1 month, or have done weekend trips here and there. Or who used two boots and one shoe, or two different bags for different weather along the way.

I looking for people who never switched what they had, and used it the whole entire time.

An example would be: I hiked the A.T. from ga-me in 2003 and used a kelty something bag, the whole way, and it worked fine for me.
or I wore a certain brand of boot, and it lasted the whole entire time.

Thanks.

rafe

02-05-2008, 08:32

My OR "Seattle Sombrero."

cocoa

02-05-2008, 11:20

My husband hiked with his Gregory Forester backpack and still uses it. It stinks though. Also it weights like seven pounds.

Cook pot, stand, etc., but we had to make a new soda can stove halfway through. Still the soda can stoves lasted over 1,000 miles, used twice a day.

The only things I carried the whole way were my crocs and a cotton sarong (which made an awesome bag liner, skirt, towel, enclosed area to change in, picnic blanket), a headlamp, and my knife. I am a serious problem with decluttering, as in, I like to go through my stuff and get rid of any nonessentials. I did this over and over again on the AT, but then later on I would need something back and have to get it mailed back to me. I do this at home too.

ScottP

02-05-2008, 12:07

My mountain hardwear dom peringon hat has over 6000 miles on it--I've had it since I first started hiking.
My Mountain Hardwear Kilt has around 6000 miles on it
I got 3500 miles out of my Rail riders ecomesh shirt
my six moons designs gatewood cape poncho-tarp has around 3000 miles on it
my snow peak pot has over 3000 miles on it
I have over 2000 miles on my etowah 6x10 flat tarp and it's still in perfect shape
My nunatak arc alpinist has around 3500 miles on it
My OR dry bag has around 4000 miles on it

On my AT hike I mostly replaced gear as I went for the first 500 miles because I started with a bunch of poorly chosen junk, as do most people. If you take care of it, most everything will last an entire thru, if not much longer. The only exceptions are socks, shoes, super-light raingear, and super-light packs. I'm generally not a fan of disposable gear, and prefer stuff that's a heavy enough to last with some care.

clured

02-05-2008, 22:52

2174 miles on:

GoLite Jampack (the original, but the Jam2 is the same)
Oware 1-man Tarp
Oware Bivy
Montrail Hardrocks (3 pair, but same make/model; shoe size started at 9, ended at 10.5)

Bearpaw

02-05-2008, 23:07

My:

REI Sololite tent.

MSR Whisperlite and Cascade Designs Cook pot.

A snot-green bandanna.

My beanie teddy bear.

Jim Adams

02-05-2008, 23:21

my first thru everything except shoes went the whole way....my second hike I learned to switch equipment for the seasons (lighter bag, clothes,etc in summer)
my original Hi-Tec shoes lasted 1400 miles and the second set finished with no problem.

my original wooden hiking stick (a stick found along the trail) is still going strong but I have worn 5 1/2" off of it so far.

geek

AT-HITMAN2005

02-06-2008, 07:39

MSR hubba
Granite gear vapor trail
MSR simmerlite
my sleeping bag would have but i switched out for a summer one
olympus stylus 300 camera
smartwool adrenaline socks-3 pair

Marta

02-06-2008, 08:41

Are you saying your lacey underwear didn't go the distance? :D The ones I got from Fredericks of Poland wear like leather-oops, they ARE leather!

You should have gotten Patagonia. It's much more durable. Dries better than leather, too.

Most stuff should last, if you take reasonable care of it. A lot of the gear-switching that goes on is not because things broke, but because people see better stuff and buy it.

I traded out quite a few things because of the change of seasons. I still have all that gear, and have used it on other hikes, in the appropriate season. Things I used the whole way: Leki hiking poles, Virga I Tarptent, MSR Ti kettle, long-handled spoon, Possum Down gloves, Z-Rest, Brawny's silnylon rain jacket and pants, Patagonia R2 fleece jacket, the above-mentioned Patagonia underwear. (I have since thrown it out because it was hopelessly dingy.) I bought a Therm-A-Rest in Vermont and used it the rest of the way, and am still using it.

The guy I hiked the last part of the Trail with used his same gear the whole way--Kelty Red Cloud pack, Whisperlite stove, MSR stainless steel pot, Cabela sleeping bag. He did break a hiking pole along the way, and jammed the handle on a wooden stick. He also punctured a Therm-A-Rest, and went back to a CCF pad.

Most of the gear replacement that goes on is not necessary, it's fickleness and choice.